Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $76.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.15 and its 200-day moving average is $69.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming has a 12 month low of $49.34 and a 12 month high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock worth $5,123,749. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth approximately $241,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.1% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 48,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,105,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 21.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.